Mine-door.



c. w. GARMAN.,

MINE Doon.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 26, 1909. Patented Aug. 17, 1909.

asHEETs-BHEET 1.

c. W. GARMAN.

MINE DOOR.

APPLIUATIONVHLED 11111.26, 1909.

l1111111111611 Aug. 17, 1909.

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NVENTOR WITNESSES C. W. CARMAN.

MINE Doon. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 26, 19097.

931,035. ARemtented Aug. 17, 1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

iiivirnn sfrafrns rariiur cierren.

CHARLES W. CARMAN, OF MOUNT HOPE, WEST VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TOWILLIAM E. DEEGANS, OF GLENQI EAN, WEST VIRGINIA.

MINE-noon.

spcification of Letters Patent.

Fatented Aug. 17, 1909.

ppiicatio sied January 26, i909. seriai No. 474,341.

To all it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES lV. CARMAN, a. citizen of the United States,residing at Mount Hope, in the county of Fayette and State of TW estVirginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mine-Dloors, of which the` following is a specification.

My invention relates to doors used in mines toV insure a circulation ofpure air throughout the mine, said doors being placed in headings thatwould short -circuit the draft and prevent the air from reaching allparts of the mines. Heretofore the doors used for this purpose haveeither been opervated by hand, which proved expensive, or

when operated automatically possessed faults that prevented satisfactoryworking.

The object of my invention is the. provision of an automatic dooropened' by the weight of the car when approachingit fromV either sideand closed by a counter-weight when the car has passed the door, andcon'- sists sl'iecitically of details of construction that will bedescribed at length hereinafter.

In the drawings: Figures l and 1a are views of the interior of a minetunnel showing the car track over which cars are transported, carryingthe products of the mine, and with the mine door in position, Fig. 2, across-section V*of the tunnel showing the door curtain in elevation,Fig. 3, a cross-sec-Y tional view of one of the side posts of the doorframe showing a fragment of the curtain iii position, Figs. 4 and 5,detail views of the lever for operating the curtain and its connections,and Figs. 6 and 7, `detail views of the track levers.

In the drawings similar reference characters indicate correspondingpai'ts in all of the views.

The mine tunnel indicated at 1 has. the railroad track 2 therein overwhich the products of the mine are transported and the automaticallyoperated door to be hereinafter described installed therein. l

The door frame consists of the side posts and head piece t 'connectingthe side posts.

5 indicates a roller secured to shaft 6 ournaled in boxes 7, secured toside-posts 3, and has a curtain 8 made of canvas or other fleXi blematerial secured thereto and slidably mounted in channels 9 formed bystrips l() secured to the posts, said curtain being strengthened andstiffenedby transverse slats or bars l1 of rigid material securedthereto and also riding in channels 9, the 1iowermost slot l1a beingslightly longer than the` width of the curtain so as to positively limitthe upward movement of the curtain.

12 indicates a cross-bar at the bottom of the eurtaiin 13 indicatesanother upright 4post rsecured adjacent to one of the posts 3, the shaft6 being extended so that it is journaled on post 13 as well as theadjacent post 3, said extended end of the shaft having sprocket wheels14 secured thereto.

15 indicates braces secured to posts 3 and 13, and 16 a shaft journaledon said braces `and having sprocket wheels 17 secured thereto and gearedto sprocket wheels 14 by means of chains 18. 19 indicates another postsecured to tunnel 1 at a short distance from the door frame and 20 aT-shaped lever fulcruined on said post and having its end provided withtwo pins 21, each of which is secured to one of the links of each of thechains 18.

It will be understood that when the lever is swung upwardly the roller 5is rotated so that the curtain 8 is lifted and when it is lowered theroller is rotated in an opposite direction so that the curtain islowered, the two chains workingindependently but both secured to lever2O insures continuous working of the device vas should one chain bebroken the other one will carry the burden until thel broken chain canbe repaired or replaced.

'Ihe lever is actuated so as to raise the curtain by theinstrument-alities hereinafter described and is returned in itslowermost position by means of weights 22 secured thereto. The mechanismfor raising the curtain consists of rods 23 and 23aL secured to the twoends of the cross-bar 20LL of T-shaped lever 20, the rod Q3 secured tothe upper end of the cross bar 20a being secured to a bar 24 supportedby arms 25 secured to rock shafts 26,]'ournaled at one side of track 2,in plates 27 secured to two adjacent crossties 28. The bar 24 is made upof a number of sections secured to arms 25 and secured together betweeneach pair of arms by means of turn buckles 29 so that the length of barbetween each pair of arms may .be adjusted for the most effectualoperation of the door.

3() indicates an arm secured to each shaft 26 and 31 a supplemental railsupported by means of links 32 secured to the free ends of arms 30, saidsupplemental rail extending above the rail of track 2 and having itsfree end extended at a distance as shown at 33 and loosely secured tothe track rail as shown at 34 so that a car approaching the door Willrun onto the rail 31 and by its Weight depress the extended ends of arms30, thus rocking shafts 26 and with them swinging arms 25. This willdraw the bar 21.1;` back from the door frame so as to swing the long armof the lever 2O upwardly and through the instrumentality of chains 18and the sprocket Wheels lll, secured to shaft 6, rotate the roller 5 soas to roll up the curtain 8. The rod 23a secured to the lower end ofcross-bar 20a of lever 20 is secured to a bar 24;a on the other side ofthe door frame from the bar 24 and is supported by arms I f 25a securedto rock shafts 2Ga journaled on cross ties 28, said bar heilig alsodivided in sections secured together by turnbuckles not shown similar tothe construction of bar 24. Shafts 26a are rocked by means of arms 30Lsecured thereto and connected to supplemental rail 3lEt by means oflinks 32a. rlhe adjacent ends of supplemental rails 3l and 31a aresecured together by means of U- shaped strap 33.

It will be understood from the above description and an inspection ofthe drawings that a car approaching the door from either direction willdepress the supplemental rail 3l or 31L and through the instrumentalityof rock shafts 26 or 26a move the bar 24 or 24a aivay.from the door sothat the rod 23 or 23il swings the long arm of the lever 20 upwardly,rotating the roller 5 and lifting the curtain 8 so that the car can passthrough thedoor. After the car has left the supplemental rail at theother side of the door the Weight 22 pulls the long arm of the leverdownwardly closing the door andy returning the other operating parts totheir former position.

As the operating mechanism for the curtain is outside of the track railsthe dangerv of injuring the animals, used in hauling ears',- by themechanism is substantially eliminated.` lf, however, the cars areoperated by trolley as is the case in the large percentage of modernmines I provide a bridge 34 for carrying the current over the break 34ain the line Wire provided for the curtain 8.

Having thus described my invention what claim isl. In an automatic doorfor mines, in combination With a tunnel, a track in the tunnel, a doorframe secured in the tunnel, a roller journaled on said frame, a curtainsecured to the roller, chain and sprocket gearing secured to the roller,a lever suitably fulcrumed and secured to said chain gearing, rockshafts journaled adjacent to t-he track, arms secured to said shafts, abar secured to said arm, a rod connecting the bar and lever, other armssecured to the rock shafts, and a supplemental*rail secured to the lastmentioned arms and positioned over one of the track rails.

ln an automatic door for mines, in combination vvith a tunnel, a trackin the tunnel, a door frame secured in the tunnel, a roller journaled onsaid frame, a curtain secured to the roller, chain and sprocket gearingsecured to the roller, a T-shaped lever suitably fulcrumed and securedto the chain gearing, the cross-bar of the lever having rods secured toits ends, rock shafts journaled at one side of the track, arms securedto said rock shafts, bars secured to said arms, the rods secured to thelever crossbar secured to the bars, one on one side of the door frame,the other on the other, other arms secured to said rock shafts, asupplemental rail positioned above one of the track rails, and linksconnecting said supplemental rail and the last mentioned arms.

In testimony whereof l hereto alix my signature in the presence of tivowitnesses.

CHARLES lV. GARMAN.

Witnesses D. B. HUNTER, G. H. NUGEN.

